Parallel Worlds

by Anonymous

Summary:

After getting exiled, Tommy steps through a portal and finds himself in an alternate universe, where he was presumed dead. His family is happy with his reappearance, but Tommy wants to go back to the Dream SMP. Will he be able to go back home or will he be stuck here forever?

Notes:

Hello there! This is my first work, so it will probably be kind of bad. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1: The beginning

The sky is grey, heavy with clouds. Tommy looked up from where he was sitting on the ground, looking at the boats leaving. He couldn’t believe he just got exiled. And he didn’t even get to keep his old armor, having to make flimsy wooden tools.

Tommy tried to get a tent up, but it fell to the ground again. Well, so much for shelter. Trying once again to put it up, he gets attacked from behind. He grabs his wooden sword and stabs the spider repeatedly, killing it, but not before it managed to sink its teeth into his flesh.

“Great, now I’m bleeding” He mumbles, taking a look at his arm to see the wounds the spider inflicted. He didn’t have many supplies with him, so he tore a strip from his clothes and tied it around his arm to hopefully stop the bleeding.

He manages to get the tent up and hides inside it. Looking outside, the field is littered with mobs that at least now wouldn’t get close to him.

“WHO’S LAUGHING NOW, HUH?” He screams, taking a rock from the ground and throwing it at the nearest mob, a skeleton. His response is an arrow that flies and pierces the tent just to the side of his head. He yelps, closing the tent and huddling in the corner.

‘At least things can’t get any worse’ he thinks, and just in that moment rain starts pouring down. “Are you serious!?” He says irritably. He tries to get in a comfortable position, but despite being so tired, sleep won’t come. His mind is lit with thoughts, especially after what happened today.

“You couldn’t do one thing for me” He hears his friend shout from his memories. “Tubbo is lying to you! He would drop us AT THE SECOND he realizes we’re not in the lead anymore” ‘No, no, no-‘ “You know what you are?” His friends voice rings again “Selfish. You messed this up for no one but yourself”.

He curls up into a ball, hugging his knees. He doesn’t dare to shed the tears that threaten to spill. “You’re a man, get it together” He whispers, in a desperate attempt to convince himself. He ends up sleeping after some time, having his sleep plagued with nightmares about his friends and family.

He wakes up the other day, with an ache in his body from sleeping on the floor. He sits up and winces from the sharp pain that comes from his arm. He looks down and sees that the cloth he tied is covered in blood. “Ah, great, I feel horrible” He mutters, gathering his strength to lift himself up.

The sky is a light shade of gray, just beginning to light up. He walks to the edge of the beach, washing his hands in the water. As the mud and dirt sticking to him washes off, he sighs, knowing that there would be a long day ahead of him.

Turning back to where he set his tent, he grabbed his wooden tools and went searching for a cave. After some minutes of walking he found one, and began mining for supplies. He managed to get a good amount of iron and upgrade all his tools to stone. Fortunately, he didn’t get attacked by mobs, but his hurt arm was still sore after so much exercise. Tommy makes some armor for himself, and he also gets iron tools.

“At least I did something productive today” He says, sitting on the ground to rest for a moment. He got up after a while and went searching for food. While the space he was in was open, there was a forest near, and he figured it would be a good place to start.
After walking some more and collecting berries, he found some sheep. Drawing out his sword, he attacked one, effectively injuring it and making the others run away. He killed the animal in one more blow, and got its meat and wool. Deciding that he should stock up some more, he followed the sounds of the other animals. He found the sheep, but he also found a nether portal.

“What? Was someone here before?” He asked, moving closer to investigate. The portal was lit up, but instead of a purple glow the light was blue. Except for that, the portal seemed pretty normal. He moved to enter the portal, but stopped himself.
“If there is something wrong with that thing, it’s not my responsibility to find out what.” He decided, turning back to the sheep. “I might be hallucinating, even. Besides, I have bigger problems right now”.

He killed some more sheep and went back to his camp. Now he had enough to make himself a makeshift bed, with a thin blanket made out of wool.

“This exile might not be so bad, after all” He said smiling, before looking back at the sea, the smile falling. Who is he kidding, he misses home. He misses having his stuff, sleeping in his confortable bed, hanging out with his friends. When will he be able to go back?

“Tommy, are we the bad guys?” He hears his brother ask. ‘No, no, I’m not’ He thinks as he lies down. “If the roles were reversed, as you said, you probably wouldn’t exile me, because I would have actually listened to you and done what you said!” He hears his friend scream, as he tries to get in a more comfortable position. ‘Please, stop it!’ He thinks, putting his hands against his ears to drown out the voices of his once friends. “You want to be a good guy, Tommy? Then DIE LIKE ONE!” He hears Technoblades voice, and jumps away from where he was.

Pressing his hands even harder against his head, he keeps trying to ignore the voices that only grow louder. This time he didn’t have the heart to keep himself from crying, the tears already running down his face. He opens the tent and goes outside, ‘ I need to try and get some fresh air, to get away…’

He is suddenly interrupted when he hears a hissing sound to his left. He barely has time to lift an arm and take a step away as he turns to see a creeper exploding besides him, sending him flying to the ground with the force of the explosion.

The world grows darker around him, and he gets the overwhelming desire to just stay down where he is and sleep, but he gathers all strength he has to stay awake, knowing that if he closes his eyes he might not open them again. His ears are ringing and his whole body hurts, but after some minutes he drags himself up.

Where his tent used to be is now just a crater, very few of his things actually escaping the explosion. He grabs what’s left and start thinking about what to do, when it suddenly starts raining again. He tries to walk to the cover of the trees to protect himself from the few droplets that fall on his exposed skin, making him feel like he’s being burned again.

Walking further and further into the forest, it seems that the rain is only getting heavier. He will have to wait until it stops to go back. As he is walking he steps on a loose rock, and he is sent tumbling to the ground again.

He screams, having fallen down on his bad arm. The ground is stained with his blood, and he keeps all his strength to just stop himself from fainting. He looks up from where he lied and found the strange portal staring back at him.

He has to look for help; if he stays here he will probably die. If he goes through the Nether he might find someone easier, and get some help. However, that place is harsh, and even more dangerous than staying here. No matter what he chooses, he will probably die either way.

“Might as well die trying” He manages a whisper, holding himself up and limping to the portal. Its blue glow engulfs him as he barely keeps himself standing. The world changes around him and he steps out of the portal. However, instead of the hot and unforgiving red landscape, he finds himself in a cold forest, the ground covered with snow.

“Huh, what?” He asks, stepping out of the portal. It closed after him, its light fading, leaving him alone in the middle of nowhere. The snow hurts against his exposed skin, and his vision starts blacking out. He hears a voice calling out to him, but doesn’t get to process it before he blacks out and falls to the ground.

Chapter 2: The arrival

Summary:

“Philza?” Tommy whispers wearily. “My son, oh, I thought you had died” Says Philza, face full of relief. “We were all so worried about you; we didn’t think you would ever come back. But now you are here”.

Notes:

Hello again! I’m a bit disappointed with how this chapter turned out, but I swear the next one will be better.

He begins to wake up. He doesn’t open his eyes; the covers are so soft… ‘Wait, covers?’ He opens his eyes, trying to take in his bearings. ‘Well, this doesn’t look like a forest’ he thinks, realizing that now he is lying in a bed, in a room that looks suspiciously a lot like his old bedroom. “Was it all a dream?” He says to himself. ‘Maybe they didn’t exile me, and it was all some really bad nightmare’. He suddenly hears a knock on the door, and doesn’t really have time to react before the door is opened and he sees his father.

“Philza?” He whispers wearily. His father didn’t hurt him personally, but he knows he sided with Technoblade. ‘What is he doing here? “My son, oh, I thought you had died” Says Philza, face full of relief. “We were all so worried about you; we didn’t think you would ever come back. But now you are here”.

Now he is a bit confused. He was exiled, what do they mean about coming back? And why are they relieved he’s here? It seems they didn’t want him around before. The death part he could understand, he got really hurt, after all. ‘Wait, why am I not in severe pain?’ He asks himself.

“Dad?” “Yes, son?” Is the answer. “What happened to me?” Philza enters the room, and sits at the edge of his bed. “Well, I was out gathering supplies, and heard you falling in the snow. When I saw that it was you, I carried you back home and called your brothers. You had many wounds, but we were able to take care of them through the help of some potions.”

“How long was I asleep for?” “Almost one week" His father answers. “And you were missing for months! Where were you? Why didn't you come home before?” “Months? But I have only been gone for a week!” Tommy is more confused now. He knows it only took two days to get here, and then a week to wake up. How come he is gone for months?

“What is the last thing you remember?” Philza asked, now worried. “Getting exiled" Tommy answers. “You were… exiled?” His father asked, cautiously. “Yes…?” Tommy answered, looking his father in the eyes. He's pretty sure that he didn't just make up one of the worst days of his life. “Did you hit your head?” Phil asked, checking him over for any injuries. Okay, he's pretty sure something is very wrong.

“I… maybe I did. I can’t remember" He said, deciding to figure out what’s going on by himself. “Oh, at least you're alive. Do you think you're well enough to get out of bed? Your brothers will be happy to know you're awake.” Tommy sat up, Philza reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder, to support him. His body ached a bit, but it was infinitely better than what it was before, so he nodded and got up.

“TOMMY IS AWAKE" His father screamed as they made their way to what he supposed was the living room. In one Hallway there were lots of photos of the family, most with him, but there were a few where he didn't appear. He remember this house. The problem is, he hasn’t been here for years. Weren’t they supposed to be in the SMP?
They sat down on a couch, and heard footsteps rushing to the room.

“Tommy!” He heard Wilbur scream. The man, who was wearing a beanie and a yellow sweatshirt, got beside him within seconds, giving him a hug. ‘What? He's alive!? How?’ Tommy thinks. ‘Okay, what is going on' He remembers clearly the day his father stabbed his brother, after L'manberg was blown up. He was supposed to be a ghost, he wasn't supposed to be able to touch him.

“Tommy? Earth to Tommy?” Wilbur says, waving his hands. “Oh, I'm sorry. I got distracted.” “Are you alright?” Wilbur asked, worry evident in his face. “Don’t worry, I’m feeling fine" Tommy answers. His brother is not enterily convinced, but decides to drop the subject.

“So…” Wilbur begins “What do you guys want to do now? We should celebrate!” Tommy suddenly feels a hand on his shoulder and whips around, surprised. “Hallo" The voice says. It's no one other than Techno. Now, he remembers the last interaction they had, and it involved Withers, betrayal and destruction. “How are you feeling? I didn't mean to scare you” His older brother asks, stepping away after his reaction.

“I'm feeling… fine" He answers cautiously, scooting back in the couch. Shouldn’t Techno be trying to stab him right now? ‘I mean, the last time we saw each other he seemed pretty happy to try to kill me' “That’s good" His brother says, keeping his face blank, but Tommy could see a trace of worry.

“Now that we are all here, why don't we do something together? We can watch a movie.” Wilbur says, trying to return to a normal conversation. “Sure" Tommy agreed, hearing other noises of confirmation around the room. “That's great! Would you like to choose, Tommy?”

“Oh, anything is fine by me" Tommy mumbles, already tired. “It’s almost dinner time. If you want you can wait at the table" Philza said, moving to the kitchen.

The three brothers are left in silence after Phil leaves the room. Tommy looks at his hands, and starts thinking about his interactions so far. ‘They all seem so friendly. Maybe they all don’t remember betraying me? But how?’ Things seem to be a lot different here, like them being back to his old home and Wilbur still being alive.

“ I'll help setting up the table" Wilbur says, getting up and moving to another room. Well, now the silence is just uncomfortable. Tommy looks down, trying not to meet the eyes of his brother. Some moments pass, and he hears him speak up “Look Tommy, I’m not really good with this feelings stuff, but if you need my help for anything, know that I'm here for you". That’s another thing that changed, his brother seems normal now. “Of course.” Tommy answers, finally looking up.

“Dinner's ready!” Phil calls. The brothers move to sit at the table. There is a bowl of steaming mushroom soup paired with a plate full of baked potatoes. “Potatoes again?" Wilbur asks, having already sat down. “Be glad you also have soup" Techno says, already grabbing some potatoes for himself.

Tommy serves his food and begins eating. The dinner was nice, to say the least. The food was good and it was easy for Tommy to talk to the people he calls family. ‘Maybe it’s time things actually go well for once' After he finishes eating, he puts his plate in the sink and moves to the couch.

Everyone starts gathering to see the movie. They chose to watch ‘Treasure Planet’. After a long day, and having his body tired after just recovering from various injuries, he begins to get sleepy. Laying his head on his father's side, he gets on a comfortable position and drifts off to sleep.

Chapter 3: The findings

Summary:

“Hey guys” Tommy pipes in, and Philza and Techno turn their heads to him. “I was thinking that we could travel, you know. I am really excited to meet Wellsville”

Notes:

Hello! Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

When he wakes up, everybody already left the couch. Rubbing his eyes, he reluctantly gets up. He moves to his room, taking a look around. Some of his stuff is missing, but there are also lots of pictures now covering the room. He seems to appear in all of them, be it with his family or Tubbo, and in some he is even alone.

He stays there fore a few minutes, taking it all in. There are so many happy moments that he forgot after going through L'manburgs wars; Being happy again and having room to breath was refreshing.

He left his room once again, deciding to find someone to talk to. He entered the kitchen, and there stood Phil. “Goodmorning, dad!” “Goodmorning" Philza turned to him, waving. “How was your sleep?” “I slept well” Tommy answered.

“Can you help me with something?" Philza asks. Tommy nods. “Could you go outside and grab some mushrooms? Maybe some apples too” “Sure, I can try" Tommy answers, heading to the door. “Wait, Tommy, grab a coat and some boots before going outside.” His father warns.

Tommy goes to his room, does as his father asked, and goes out of the house, to the snowy forest. He inspects the trees as he walks, searching for mushrooms in the trunk of trees and apples in their branches. He manager to gather some resources, but looks around and finds the same portal where he came from.

“That’s right, I forgot it was there” Tommy says, coming closer. The portal is not lit up, making it seem like a normal nether portal. Looking closer, he finds some words engraved in the obsidian, but he doesn’t understand what they mean. ‘I can’t believe this wasn’t all a dream' He thinks, touching the portal lightly.

“Tommy?” A voice asks. He yelps and turns around, finding Technoblade standing there. “Oh, it's just you" He mutters. “You've been awfully jumpy lately" Techno comments. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be here. What are you doing here, anyway?” Tommy asks. “Oh, just coming back after farming potatoes" His brother answers, turning back and walking towards their house. “C'mon, let’s go back"

They walk to the house in a comfortable silence. When he gets home he goes to the kitchen and drops the food on the table. “We’re back" Tommy announces. “That’s great, thank you" Philza answers. Tommy goes to the living room and sits down, trying to see if there are any movies worth watching on the TV.

Wilbur comes to the living room and sits beside him. The two watch some corny movies and make fun of their characters. The day passes uneventfully, and Tommy gets to spend some quality time with his family. They give him constant attention, and they treat him a lot better than before, doing everything they can to make him happy. Tommy falls into a routine, spending his weeks training with Techno, hearing Wilbur play the guitar and helping Philza with what he can. He pushes the thoughts of the portal and the exile to the back of his mind, instead letting himself get used to this new world.

One of those days, he is in the living room again, just looking at the wall, when Philza calls him. “Tommy! Could you pick up a book in my room? It’s called “Healthy cooking”” “Why am I the one picking up stuff?” Tommy whines, annoyed to be interrupted from his daily daydreaming, but he huffs and gets up nonetheless.

Walking in Philzas room, Tommy spots a pile of books in a cabinet, and begins searching. Not finding the book he’s looking for in the first pile, he moves to look in the drawers, starting with the one at the bottom. It’s stuck, so he grabs the handle with all his force and pushes himself backwards. He falls to the floor with a bang, but not without taking the drawer with him. “Are you fine!?” Someone screams from far in the house. “YEAH!” He screams back. His body hurts, and now he’ll have to figure out how to put the drawer back to its place.

Fortunately the drawer wasn’t very full, only containing a few notebooks and pens. He empties it and goes to put it back in its place, but it falls off. Huffing, he gets closer to the cabinet and examines the empty space where the drawer was supposed to be, looking for anything that might help him put it back. He reaches into it, gasping and retreating his hand when the lower part of the furniture seems to give away.

He waits for a moment, and after seeing that the cabinet doesn’t fall apart he touches the piece again. It moves a bit under the pressure. He grabs the corners of it and pulls, hurting his fingers but feeling it come off. Setting the wood piece aside, he leans closer and finds a dusty book sitting in the corner. He grabs it and lays it on the floor. The bold letters on the cover read “Parallel Worlds”. ‘Okay, what?’ Why was his father hiding this book? And why would he need to know about this topic in the first place?

Opening it up, he goes to a bookmarked page, and finds a drawing of a nether portal, with the same blue glow he remembers so well. “It was real?” He whispers, reading the notes written on the page. “… With this portal, the user can go across different universes. It’s important to note that…” He skips some notes, looking at the words that seemed to be highlighted. He gathers the information that the portal does exist, and works with a special magic. To make it work, he needs an amulet hidden on a mountain in a village called Wellsville. “The portal can help people travel across the different worlds, but it needs the amulet to work.” He reads off, turning the page but finding no more interesting information.

“Sure, I can make this work” Tommy says, grabbing the book and standing up. ‘But, do I want to?’ He wonders. He isn’t where he belongs, but he was exiled before, from the placed he called his country. And the people here are so nice, especially after he’s supposedly came back from the dead... But his friends, he can’t just leave them. ‘What if they don’t want me to go back? What if they are happy now that I’m gone?’ He thinks, quickly being swarmed by doubts and questions about his future. He holds his head with his hands, dropping the book to the ground.

“Tommy?” A voice interrupts his thoughts. Turning around, he sees Phil worriedly standing at the door. As quietly as he can, he kicks the book under the bed and begins to speak. “Dad...” He whispers, voice cracking. Philza comes close and pulls him into a hug, whispering soft reassurances. Tommy hugs back, and doesn’t fight it when his father wipes the tears that he doesn’t remember shedding.

They stay like that for a few minutes, Philza holding his son while Tommy sobs and lets all his tears fall off. After he quieted down he hears Phil whisper. “Do you want to talk about it?” “I… no.” Tommy answers, rubbing his face. “Just know that if you need help, we are here for you” Philza says, and after receiving a nod in response, grabs the book he had asked for and leaves, sending Tommy a warm smile.

Tommy waits for a few moments, and when he can’t hear footsteps anymore, he grabs the book from under the bed and goes quietly to his room, hiding the book under the bed. He can figure out what he wanted to do tomorrow. For now, he will rest and clear his thoughts.

Chapter 4: Traveling

Summary:

“Hey guys” Tommy pipes in, and Philza and Techno turn their heads to him. “I was thinking that we could travel, you know. I am really excited to meet Wellsville”

Notes:

So, this is the fourth chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

The next morning, the family is all together for breakfast. Tommy listens to the others talk while he gulps down another piece of delicious pancake. “I’m just saying, sand seems delicious” Wilbur claims, which prompts a snort from Techno and a disappointed look from Philza. “Please, just don’t eat the sand” Philza begs, from having to withstand 10 minutes of Wilbur talking about sand. “No promises” Wilbur says, finally biting down on a piece of pancake.

“Hey guys” Tommy pipes in, and Philza and Techno turn their heads to him, while Wilbur looks in amazement at the pancake. “I was thinking that we could travel, you know. I am really excited to meet Wellsville” “That’s a great idea, we could use some days of vacation” Philza decides. “Sounds fine to me” Techno shrugs. From where he was sitting, Wilbur gives a thumbs up sign.

“Wellsville isn’t actually that far off, we could go this week if you guys wanted to” Philza says, and Tommy nods vigorously. “Sure, but why do you want to go to Wellsville specifically? I’m just curious” Wilbur says, putting his fork down. “I read about it in a book, and thought it would be exciting to see it” Tommy answers. “Oh, Tommy’s reading books now, isn’t he? Our baby brother is growing up” Wilbur smirks, laughing went Tommy immediately defended himself. “It’s okay Tommy, if you want to pick up a book it’s fine. I just didn’t think you liked to read that much.” Wilbur says, ruffling his brother’s hair. “A man needs something to do in his free time” Tommy huffs, trying to justify himself. “Sure, sure” His brother says.

The rest of the day goes as usual, and Tommy rereads his book when he has the time, making sure that he knows about all the little details. After a few days, they finally decide to begin traveling, and they pack their bags, with Tommy hiding his book in his, and they leave. The way there takes some hours, but they get there soon enough.

They rent a house in the corners of the village, unpacking theirs things and making themselves at home. ‘It’s a good time for me to find the amulet’ Tommy supposes, turning around and addressing his family. “So guys, the travel was kind of boring, so I was thinking I could take a walk” He says, forcing a smile. “Oh, we could go with you” Wilbur says, getting up from his seat on the couch. “No, I kind of prefer to go alone…” Tommy says, looking anywhere but at his brothers’ eyes. Wilbur frowns. “Well, we were planning on visiting the town anyway, so it’s better if we stay together.” Philza pipes in, standing up and moving to the door. “What do you think, Techno?” Techno looks at his father’s eyes and shrugs, moving to stand up. “Fine by me” He mutters. Seeing the three would follow him anyway, Tommy sighs and resigns to his fate. ‘I can look for it another time’ He decides.

They go out of the house and Philza locks the door. They begin walking around, taking a look at the town. The houses were all made of wood and cobblestone, some having small gardens in their fronts. They could also find some flowers around, from all colors and sizes. ‘The village is kind of pretty’ Tommy thinks. It’s pretty simple, but pretty nonetheless. Some buildings are made out of stone, looking older than the rest.

Tommy runs ahead of his family, too impatient to stay still. “Tommy?” He hears his name being called. He turns around, expecting one of his family members having caught up to him, but instead finds his best friend, Tubbo. “Is it really you?” His friend whispers, taking a step closer. Tears begin pooling at Tubbos eyes. Tubbo isn’t like the last time he saw him. Instead of wearing a suit and necktie, his friend is wearing his normal green clothing. “Yes” Tommy says cautiously, not knowing yet if they were in good terms.

His friends stops and then sobs, running to Tommy and enveloping his friend in a hug. “I thought I lost you” He whispers, voice cracking. “I thought you were dead” Tommy holds his friend back, whispering that ‘it’s fine, we’re fine’.

Tommy hears his name being called again and he stops hugging Tubbo to turn around. It’s his family, they just got there. Tubbo rubs a hand against his face, and looks toward them as well. “Did you know he was alive?” Tubbo asks, addressing them with disbelief. “We didn’t have time to tell you” Phil says. ‘That’s a lie; I’ve been with you for weeks’ Tommy thinks. “We didn’t know where to find you. But yeah, we found him” His father continues.

Tubbo looks at them with suspicion for a moment, but then sighs and tries to smile. “At least I know he’s alive now, right?” He says. “Right” His father mutters. Tubbo holds Tommy’s hand, and they continue the tour around the village, the two boys talking excitedly.

“I think it’s too dark now, we should go home” His father decides, the sun beginning to set. The two boys are sitting in a bench, talking about bees. “So soon?” Tommy whines, holding Tubbos hand. “Mobs will start appearing soon, it’s safer inside” Phil says, turning and walking away slowly. “Can’t Techno fight the mobs?” Tommy asks. “I’d prefer not to stay here for hours fighting mobs, and actually get some rest” Techno decides, ruffling Tommy’s hair and then turning to follow his father. “Fine” Tommy mutters, letting go of Tubbos hand. “We’ll see each other again tomorrow?” He asks. “Tomorrow” His friend answers, waving.

They go back to the house, having done enough walking for the day. Tommy sits on the couch, looking at his family move around. “A rough day?” Techno asks, sitting down beside him. “There was a lot of walking, but I found Tubbo, so it’s fine” Tommy answers. “That’s good” His brother says. “If you want we can travel more frequently” He continues. “Huh?” Tommy looks to his brother. “I mean, if it makes you happy. Know that we just want what’s best for you.” “Oh, thanks, I’ll think about that” Tommy says, smiling. Techno ruffles his hair, receiving a whine in response, and leaves the room. Tommy goes to his room and sleeps not too long after, the exhaustion of the day weighting down on him.

Chapter 5: Exploring

Summary:

The room is large, and they see on the far end a pedestal. Coming closer, they see an amulet with a red jewel. They glance at each other, and Tommy leans forward, grabbing the amulet and wearing it around his neck.

Notes:

Hi there! I’ve been reading all the comments, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to answer to all of them. Sorry!
Also, I will start posting two chapters a day instead of one from now on. Hope you enjoy the story!

The night is filled with a pleasant sleep, and he whines when he wakes up to someone calling his name. “Just five more minutes” He mumbles. He hears footsteps down the hall, and not too long after someone is shaking his shoulder. “Wake up sleepyhead, it’s time for breakfast” The voice- Wilbur – says softly. “Let me sleep” Tommy mumbles. He hears silence, and thinks that maybe he’s won, and prepares to sleep again. Suddenly, the covers are ripped from the bed, and because he was holding onto them, he falls to the floor as well.

“Why!?” He yells, now awake. “Well, you had to wake up somehow. Come on, the others are waiting for you” Wilbur says, helping Tommy up. Tommy grumbles, but follows Wilbur to the table, where the other two are sat already. “Good morning” He says, and the others give him a ‘Good morning’ as well. “Wait, did you guy finish eating already?” tommy says, looking at the almost-empty plates. “Not yet, but you almost completely missed breakfast” Wilbur supplies, eating the rest of his meal. Tommy begins eating his food, which is just bread with cheese, as quickly as he can without chocking. He goes to drink a glass of orange juice but ends up spilling it on his shirt.

“Agh, no” He shrieks, having now ruined a perfectly good shirt. Tommy looks around and sees that Techno is already going towards the rooms. “Hey Techno, could you please grab me a new shirt?” Tommy asks, looking pleadingly at his older brother. “Sure. It’s in your bag, right?” Technoblade asks. Tommy nods, and Techno goes to his room. Tommy grabs a napkin and starts rubbing it on his shirt, but it didn’t help too much. He at least had finished his bread, but felt a little bad for eating it so quickly.

Waiting for Techno, he realizes he’s taking a bit too long to come back. “Techno! Is everything alright?” He screams. He waits a few moments, and Techno finally comes back with the clothing. Tommy changes his shirt and thanks Techno, going back to his room after putting his plate in the sink and cleaning the mess he made. He walks up to his bag and sees that the book “Parallel Worlds” is sitting on the table. ‘I don’t remember taking it out of the bag, it must have fallen off’ He thinks, putting the book back in the bag. He doesn’t know what he’d do if his family found the book.

He suddenly hears shouts from far away, and rushes to the living room. “What’s happening?” He asks, agitated. “I think the village is being attacked” Philza answers, glancing towards the door. Phil turns to tommy. “Tommy, you stay here in this house. We are going to help fight off the intruders” “But I’m a big man! I can help!” He says, moving to stand with his brothers. Wilbur stops him with a hand on his shoulder, and then gently pushes him back to the house. “We have to keep you safe” Wilbur says decidedly. “C’mon, you can’t be serious” Tommy looks pleadingly at them. They shake their head resignedly. “We’ll be back as soon as possible, alright?” Philza tries, and after receiving no answer, they leave the house.

‘Great. Now I’m stuck here’ He thinks, staring angrily at the door. “I’ve fought wars before, I can handle it!” He shouts at the door. As he expected, there is no response. ‘What can I do?’ He wonders, before he remembers the book. The amulet, of course, how could he not think of that before? He could go now and come back with the item, and his family wouldn’t even notice he’s gone. ‘But what if I don’t come back in time and they get worried?’ They will probably leave the village because of the attack, so if he doesn’t go now, he might not have another chance.

He decides that he needs to go, getting an empty backpack and sword and leaving the house. As he goes outside, he can hear shouting and smell something burning, so he goes to the opposite direction and runs. This part of the village was empty, so he manages to leave it rather quickly. “Where do I need to go now? Right, the mountain” He whispers, looking around. The mountain is actually pretty close, so he runs towards that direction. He gets close and looks for where he could find the amulet.

He hears a twig snap behind him, and whips around. He quietly stares at the direction the sound is coming from. He sees nothing. Cautiously, he turns around. He must have imagined it. Walking close to the walls, he finds the entrance to a cave, and decides to explore. He makes himself a torch as he walks deeper and deeper, jumping at every little noise. Taking a moment to rest, he leans on the wall.

He quiets his breathing and begins to walk again, when he hears a hissing sound behind him. Having been more prepared than last time, he jumps away, just in time to save himself from the explosion the creeper caused. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt to fall to the ground, but at least he’s still alive. Going closer to the now crater, he peers at the ground. He can see a pathway down, and a light source. He tries to lower himself carefully, but ends up slipping and falling the rest of the way.

He grunts, felling his body begin to bruise. It wasn’t a long fall, but it will surely hurt later. He drags himself up, looking around. His torch has become useless when he fell, but he sees a series of torches on a wall. Grabbing one, he begins to follow the pathway. He gets through a doorway painted in blue, and gets to a large space, with a high ceiling and more doorways. There is a golden door right in the middle, but he sees that it’s locked, and there are three locks to open.

Deciding to just look through the other doors, he goes to one in the far left. The floor of the room is stone, and the walls are covered with bricks. There is an intact door in the room that appears to be locked. He goes to inspect it, and finds some words engraved in the stone. “Some things are closer than you realize” it reads. Are they talking about the key?

He begins looking around the room, examining the floor, the walls, everything he can see. He spends some minutes, but his search appears to be fruitless. Really paying attention to details this time, he notices that one of the bricks is a darker color than the others. Deciding to go for it, he pulls it out and finds a key sitting in the open space. Grinning, he pulls out the key and goes to the door, which has been successfully unlocked. Going to the other room, he finds a pedestal with a green key, and a jukebox. He grabs the green key and puts it in his backpack.

He picks another random door, this time the floor is made out of dirt, and there are dark holes in the walls, the size of a person. There is a locked door in one side, with a button besides it. Reaching out and pressing it, he starts to hear mobs coming closer. He raises his sword and starts slashing the zombies that come closer. They don’t stop coming, and he’s starting to get tired. He looks around, still fighting the monsters, when he sees a spawner.

He goes towards it, but suddenly feels a sharp pain in his leg. He sees an arrow embedded to the ground just besides his feet, and realizes he’s been shot at by a skeleton, turning around, he stabs the monster repeatedly. He feels something slam against him and goes to the ground with the force. He trashes his sword forward just in time to stop the spider from biting him.

The spider is suddenly thrown off of him, and he watches another person sink their sword into its flesh. “Tubbo?” He mutter, body fuelled by adrenaline. “We can talk later, we have monsters to kill” His friend says, moving to slay the mob closest to him. “There is a spawner, we need to break it!” Tommy shouts. “You get it, I’ll distract the mobs!” Tubbo shouts back, fighting the creatures.

Tommy limps towards the portal. When he is almost touching it, a group of zombies appear. Tommy cuts them with his sword, stabbing them mercilessly. In the first chance he gets, he hits the spawner repeatedly, effectively breaking it. After killing the remaining monsters, the two boys sit on the ground, panting. The door in the room opens. Tommy gets up to go through, but his friend stops him.

“Why are you here” He asks. “I could asks you the same thing” Tommy says, moving to move around him, but is stopped by Tubbo again. “When I was at the village, it got attacked. I went to look for you, and found you escaping to here. I lost you for one second and you’re already getting overwhelmed by mobs! Now answer me, why are you here?” Tubbo says, pointedly looking at Tommy. “You wouldn’t understand…” Tommy justifies, looking at his friend with disbelief. “We’re here, aren’t we? If you got any possible justification, you better start explaining” Says Tubbo.

“Well, what if I told you… that I come from an alternate universe?” Tommy tries, not looking at Tubbo in the eyes. “A what?” “An alternate universe-”. “I heard you before, but what kind of justification is that!?” Tubbo interrupts, shaking his best friend. “Please, you have to trust me! I swear on my discs, I’m not joking!” Tommy yells, trying to get his point across. “And if I supposedly believed you, how did you even get here?” Tubbo asks disbelief clear on his face. “I found a portal! I went through and it led me here! I need an amulet to get back!”

“You think this is funny, don’t you? It’s not time for jokes, Tommy” Tubbo accuses irritably. “It’s not a joke, I swear!” Tommy says, frustrated. “Dude, what is your problem!? You could have died, and I wouldn’t have been able to help you!” Tubbo screams, his voice getting increasingly louder. “I was scared, Tommy! I thought you would never come back, I thought I lost my best friend forever, and I couldn’t help you, because I wasn’t there when you needed me!!” Tubbo continues, tears flowing freely down his face. “And now you almost die, and you don’t even want to be honest with me! If you actually treated something seriously for once, you wouldn’t-”

“You exiled me.” Tommy whispers. Tubbo stops his rant, the room going quiet. “I did what…?” His friend asks, looking at Tommy in the eyes. Tommy looked back, face full of hurt and betrayal. “I made a mistake. But you EXILED me, Tubbo. Dream threatened L’manberg, and you didn’t even hesitate. You left me” Tommy says quietly, tears pooling at his eyes. “I thought I lost you. I thought you’d never want to see me again. You looked at me with such hatred.” Tommy stops, placing a hand on Tubbos shoulder and looking at him directly in the eye, with a sad sort of determination. “I need to fix things.” Tommy whispers. “I have to go back. If you don’t want to believe me, that’s fine. But I won’t let you stop me.”

Tommy turns, moving towards the door, but is stopped by Tubbo again. Tommy looks at him with a questioning look. “I’ll help” Tubbo offers, moving to stand beside him. Tommy is filled with relief and he gives Tubbo a small smile, genuine happiness flooding him.

They go to the next room, and find a pink key, and a music disc. He grabs the key and the disc and puts them into his backpack. Tommy bandages his hurt leg, and then they move into another room, in the far right. In this room they find another locked door and various holes the side of a dagger blade. Tubbo grabs his knife and inserts it into a hole, and they hear a note playing. Tubbo then inserts it into a different hole, and another sound plays.

“The disc!” Tubbo exclaims. “That must be it. But where would we play it?” Tommy suddenly remembers the jukebox in the other room. “I know where, I’ll be back in a second” Tommy says, rushing to get it. He comes back with the jukebox and lays it on the ground. Tubbo puts the disc on, and they listen to the music. They then proceed to figure out which hole makes what noise, and soon enough, they play the song in order and the door opens.

Going inside the room, he finds a yellow key. Tommy puts it in his backpack and they move towards the golden door. “Do you have all the keys?” Tubbo asks. “I think so” Tommy answers, using each key to unlock the door. It clicks open, and they step into the room.

The room is large, and they see on the far end a pedestal. Coming closer, they see an amulet with a red jewel. They glance at each other, and Tommy leans forward, grabbing the amulet and wearing it around his neck. The ground begins shaking, and Tubbo runs to the door, Tommy limping behind.

Seeing that his friend can’t run because of his injured leg, Tubbo grabs his arm and pushes him forward. The ground begins cracking, and as they get closer to the door, Tommy trips. He falls, barely holding onto a ledge. His friend grabs his arm and tries to push him up, but he is too heavy. “Get rid of your backpack!” Tubbo screams. Tommy lets go of it, watching as it falls down into the abyss. Tommy reaches up to grab his friend’s arm, when suddenly the ground shakes again.

 

Tommy feels his fingers slip…

Chapter 6: The encounter

Summary:

Techno gestures for them to go inside. When only Tommy does, Techno looks pointedly at Tubbo. “Come” He says. Tubbo comes, weary.

Notes:

To make up for the cliffhanger, here is another chapter! Unfortunately, the chapters will also be a bit smaller.

… And Tubbo manages to catch him before he falls off. His friend uses all his strength to push him up, and they both rush to the door, managing to cross it just as the floor comes down.

Both are panting heavily, staring at where the ground used to be just a moment ago. They could have died. They would have died and no one would ever know what happened to them. But… “We survived” Tubbo whispers, relief clear across his face. “We lived!” Tommy celebrates, bringing his friend into a hug. They both stay like that for a few minutes, just glad to be alive.

Eventually, they both got up, and after some minutes of searching for the exit, they managed to leave the cave. They go towards the village, laughing and talking all the while. “I can’t believe we just did that” Tubbo says. “But we did! And we were amazing!” Tommy cheered, throwing his arms up.

“Wait, can you smell that?” Tubbo asks, now worried. Tommy can sense again the same smell from when he left. The burning smell. Oh. “Yeah… But they have to be fine though” ‘Right? Right.’

They enter the village carefully, and see that some houses have been burned down. There are only a few people walking on the street, and those are sending wary glances to anyone who gets too close. They begin walking to the house Tommy stayed on, and are relieved to see the house standing tall, unharmed.

They walk to the front door and Tommy knocks, waiting. The door opens and they see Technoblade standing there. “Tommy.” He addresses, voice betraying no emotions. “Yeah?” Tommy says cautiously. Techno gestures for them to go inside. When only Tommy does, Techno looks pointedly at Tubbo. “Come” He says. Tubbo comes, weary.

They find Wilbur and Philza in the living room, Wilbur sitting on the sofa and cradling a bandaged hand while Philza is looking worriedly at the window. When they hear the sound of the door closing, they both turn their heads towards them. “They’re back” Techno says, moving to sit beside them on the couch.

“Tommy!” Philza calls, and Tommy limps toward him quietly. “What happened?” Tommy looks up, and sees his father giving him the ‘disappointed father’ stare. “Well, me and Tubbo saw the fight, so we thought it would be safer if we went away, you know? And then we kind of lost track of time, but we’re safe, right? So-” “Tommy” His father interrupts, causing Tommy to cut of his rambling. “Didn’t I just warn you to stay in the house at all costs?” His father asks, coldly staring at him. “Yes… but-” “And what did you do?” His father interrupts again. “I… I left the house…” He mutters, looking down.

“Tommy” His father says. Tommy does not look up. “Tommy, look at me” His father demands, and Tommy does, slowly. His father sighs. “Look, I didn’t want to do this, but you acted irrationally. You disobeyed my direct orders, left in the middle of a fight, which could have gotten you killed” His father stresses the last word. “And in the only moment we couldn’t watch over you, you got hurt” Tommy whimpers, holding his hurt leg. “I am afraid you’ll have to be grounded” Tommy stands up straighter at that. ‘Grounded?’. “Do you understand, Tommy?” “I do…” Tommy says, looking down again. “Pack your things, we’re leaving tomorrow” His father says, moving to his room.

The room stays silent. Sighing, Wilbur glances at them and then goes to his room, Techno following suit. Tubbo shifts uncomfortably. ‘Right. I forgot he was there’ Tommy thinks, looking towards his friend. “Do you want to go home?” Tommy asks. “Yeah, actually” Tubbo answers, opening the door. “Oh… and Tommy?” Tommy looks back at that. “I’ll visit you as soon as possible”. “Thanks Tubbo” Tommy answers, and his friend leaves the house, closing the door behind him. Tommy sighs, and moves to his room.

Tommy packs his things and changes the bandages on his leg. Tommy passes the night with a restless sleep.

Chapter 7: Doubt

Summary:

‘But what if they’re happy?’ A voice in his head says. ‘What if they all forgot about you, or even celebrated your disappearance?’

The next day, they grab their things and leave. The walk back home is spent in an uncomfortable silence, no one daring to utter a word. When they get home, Tommy immediately goes to his room. Not bothering to unpack his things, he sits at the edge of the bed and glares at the ground. ‘God, what wouldn’t I do to have one disc right now.’ He had left the disc he found on the mountain on his backpack, and it fell to the ground, long gone. ‘I could ask someone for a disc...” But that would be giving up, he could do stuff for himself.

He grabs a book from his desk, and begins writing to pass time. He eventually stops when he already completed four pages. He hears someone calling him to lunch. ‘Oh no” He thinks, resigning himself to his fate and leaving the room. He sits at the table, looking down. When everyone already sat down, he begins eating. The others talk, and Tommy doesn’t make an effort to participate. When he finishes eating, he moves to go back to his room, when his father stops him. Tommy looks at him questionably. “I’ve got to clean your wounds, come on.”

Tommy nods, following his father to the couch, sitting while Philza grabs the medical supplies. His father comes back, undoes the bandages, and starts applying antiseptic to the wounds. Tommy winces, clenching his hands, but stays quiet. “Look Tommy, I know you are upset” His father begins, continuing to clean the wound. “But please know we are doing this for your own good. We don’t want you getting hurt” His father says, now wrapping the bandages again. Phil hugs Tommy, Tommy stiffening a bit, and then relaxing. “We love you as our family. Remember that”. Tommy hugs his father back, and then Phil retreats, going to his room.

Tommy is not as frustrated anymore. He goes to the kitchen, and finds Wilbur drinking a glass of water. “Wilbur?” He calls. Wilbur finishes the drink and puts it on the sink. “Yes?” Wilbur looks at him expectantly. “… Could you show me one of your songs?” Tommy asks. Wilbur smiles. “Of course”

Tommy spends the rest of the day hanging out with his family. By the end of the day, he sits on the corner of the bed, looking out the window. ‘Today was a good day’ He thinks. At least, it was better than he expected. But then he remembered the amulet. ‘Should I stay here, where I know people like me?’ He wonders, remembering that he left on bad terms, but here people treated him nicely; He doesn’t have to fight in any wars, he gets to be a kid.

However, he also misses people from the Dream SMP, like Fundy, Ranboo, Nikki, and sometimes even Eret. That’s not to mention that he also left his family and Tubbo. He always gave his best to his friends and his country. He loved L’manberg and its people more than they will ever love him. ‘I’ve got to help them, what if something went wrong?’ He thinks, because he was always there to help his friends, but now he’s not, and it’s killing him.

“But what if they don’t want me?” He whispers. Tubbo exiled him. They all left him alone. ‘Do they even want me to go back?’ He asks himself, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He doesn’t let them, because he convinces himself he has to stay strong. He can’t let anyone down; he has to stay strong for them.

‘But what if they’re happy?’ A voice in his head says. ‘What if they all forgot about you, or even celebrated your disappearance?’ The voice, who reminds him an awfully lot of Dream, whispers in his head. The words might be quiet, but they cut across his heart like daggers. ‘Do they even like me?’ He asks, now letting the tears fall. ‘I’m weak, pathetic’ He thinks, letting himself curl into a ball. ‘I only cause problems, that’s why I was exiled in the first place!’ He screams in his head. ‘And what do I do here? When people finally seem to like me, I go to a dangerous mission to grab a stupid amulet and run away!’

He lies on the bed, whimpering pitifully. ‘They don’t want you’. The voice says. Tommy listens to it, and accepts its words. ‘They don’t want me’ He repeats, closing his eyes. He tries to go to sleep, but the few hours he gets are plagued with nightmares.

Chapter 8: I choose...

Summary:

“Tommy. What do you choose?”
Tommy makes his decision.

Notes:

Here is another chapter! The next two chapters will be different endings, so you can choose whether Tommy leaves or stays. Thank you for all the comments and kudos!

In the middle of the night, while Tommy was having a restless sleep, he wakes up to a sound at his window. “What?” He whispers, groggily sitting up. He hears the sound again, and opens up his window to look outside. “Tubbo?” He says confused. Tubbo makes a shushing gesture, and waves him over. “Do I bring something?” He whispers, praying his friend can understand. ‘The amulet’ Tubbo mouths.

Tommy changes from his pajamas and grabs his book and the amulet. He leaves the house through the window and meets up with Tubbo. “What happened?” Tommy asks. “Well, I said I would visit you, did I not?” Tubbo says. “You still want to go back, don’t you? I can help you, we can do it” His friend continues, looking determinately to Tommy. “Well… about that…” Tommy whispers, looking at the ground. “What happened?” His friend asks worriedly.

“What if they don’t want me back, Tubbo?” Tommy continues, looking up to meet his friend’s eyes. “You exiled me, there. What if you don’t like me?” His voice cracks. “Tommy” Tubbo whispers, putting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “I’m your best friend, Tommy. Even if you made a mistake, I wouldn’t just forget about you.” Tommy looks away, hesitant. “And I will eventually make some mistakes, too. The only thing we can do to fix it is to forgive our mistakes. We’ve always been friends, Tommy. A disagreement shouldn’t be enough to tear us apart.” Tubbo tries to convince tommy, saying the words sincerely. “You’re right.” Tommy sighs, looking to his friend with a now determined look. “Let’s do this”.

“Do you know where to go?” Tubbo asks. “Yes, follow me” Tommy answers, grabbing his friend by the hand. They go to the portal, the forest silent, but with the occasional twig snapping and animal noises. They get to the portal and open the book, looking for the page with the instruction. However, they can’t seem to find it.

“Are you sure you didn’t just grab the wrong book?” Tubbo asks, looking over his friend’s shoulder, to where he was reading the pages. “No, I’m sure it’s this one” His friend says, frustrated. When he starts recognizing some pages, he begins looking with a new found vigor. However, when he gets to where the page was supposed to be, he sees it was ripped from the book. “How did this happen?” Tommy asks in disbelief.

“Looking for something?” A voice asks from besides them. ‘Oh no’ Tommy thinks, dropping the book and turning around, coming face to face with his family. Techno is standing on the front of the group, holding the missing page.

“How did you get that?” Tommy asks anxiously. “Remember back in Wellsville, when you spilled juice on your shirt? When I was looking for a new shirt, I found that book. There was a marked page, with instructions on how to go to an alternate dimension. And when you came back, we found you both hurt, and you were hiding something from us. Isn’t that interesting?” Techno drawls, crossing his arms and looking pointedly at the two boys.

“I can explain” Tommy tries, looking for a way to fix the situation. “Well, you know when I got here, right? So, I was actually from a different dimension, and it took me so long to figure out how to go back… But, I figured it out, eventually. And… we’re here, right. So-” “Tommy. We know.” Philza interrupts, stopping Tommy’s ramblings. “You do?” Tommy asks, looking shocked, and then he looks hopefully at his father. “So you understand what I’m trying to do?”

“What I understand is that you lied to us, Tommy. You went behind our backs and got yourself in trouble. Again.” Philza says, looking at Tommy with disappointment. “And you too, Tubbo. You knew what he was doing and didn’t tell us” Philza continues, with Tubbo looking uncomfortable. “Why don’t you ever trust us, Tommy, we’re your family…” Philza looks at them sadly.

“I trusted you before. But you also lied to me.” Tommy defended himself. “You said you know I’m not from here, right? So why did you not help me out before?” Tommy asks, looking defiantly at his father. “You’re my son. It’s not like I could just try to abandon you.” Philza justifies, as if he doesn’t see what’s wrong with his actions. “I’m NOT your son!” Tommy screams. “None of you are my real family!”

His brothers shrink back, startled by his screaming. “Don’t say that!” His father warns, but he is ignored. “But that’s true, isn’t it? I’m not even from here! My real family might be bad but I am still a part of it.” Tommy continues on, becoming more frustrated.
“Why do you even want to go back if they treat you so poorly?” Wilbur asks, stepping in. “Because I care about them! And it’s not like you all are innocent either, you lied to me!” Tommy says.

“We care about you, Tommy! Everything we did was to protect you!” Techno defends. “If you can’t even treat me as my own person then I don’t want to be protected!” Tommy shouts, looking accusingly at his family. “I’ve fought wars before! WARS! I can take care of myself! I don’t need to be protected!”

“You shouldn’t have to fight wars, Tommy!” Wilbur says, moving to put a hand at the boy’s shoulder, but he just shrinks back. “But I did! And you let me! You made me fight these wars! You let me go through so much pain and you did nothing.” Tommy’s eyes are filling with tears, but he will not cry, he has to prove his point.

“We’re not the same version of your family. We didn’t do any of that stuff” Phil begins, and Tommy begins to speak but is interrupted when Phil continues. “You could let us fix things, Tommy. No more wars, no more mistreating. We could be a family” Philza steps closer, holding Tommy’s shoulders but is shrugged off. He does the same gesture, holding Tommy harder this time and looking at his eyes.

“But if you want it so much, we can let you go” Philza asks, and Tommy looks at Phil with a bit of shock, not expecting this development. “You can go to your original dimension, and try to fix things for yourself.” Phil continues, and Tommy looks at him hopefully, not trying to interrupt.

“Or you could stay here, with us” Philza drops his hands, and moves a step away to look at his son more clearly. “We won’t make the same mistakes. We will take care of you. But we won’t stop you if that’s not what you want.”

“Tommy. What do you choose?” Techno says, looking at his brother, resignation in his eyes. Tommy looks around. Philza is looking at him with a sad acceptance. Wilbur is looking at him encouragingly. Tubbo looks at him hopefully. Tommy makes his decision.

“I choose…”

Chapter 9: Ending 1: To stay

Notes:

So here is one of the endings! There will be two more.
Also, thank you all for the comments and kudos!

“… to stay” Tommy decides, giving his family a small smile. They let out a cry of joy, moving to hug him. He returns the action.

“Are you sure?” Tubbo asks, looking at his friend with disbelief. “Yes. I have everything I could want here.” Tommy says, pulling his friend into the hug as well. ‘I won’t have to be alone again’ Tommy thinks, looking back at his family. ‘We can fix this, together’.

They go back to the house. Philza goes to make a cake, and Tommy tries to help. Tommy almost burns down the kitchen, but they manage to leave the room holding a good cake. Everyone grabs a slice, and they all talk happily.

They give Tommy a new disc. It wasn’t the same tune as the ones back in the SMP, but he is overjoyed nonetheless. He spends time with his family, sparring with Techno, hearing Wilbur’s songs, cooking with Philza and talking about everything with Tubbo. And that isn’t counting all the fun times they all have together. They watch movies, travel, and write stories.

One night he finds himself in his room. He opens a drawer and finds the amulet. “I can’t believe everything that happened” He whispers, holding it with wonder. Tommy thinks back to the Dream SMP. ‘Didn’t I abandon them?’ He thinks guiltily about Tubbo, and his brothers.

Then he remembers the look on Tubbo’s face when he was exiled. He remembers Techno betraying his country. He remembers Ghostbur’s happy eyes as he hands out blue, a shell of who he used to be. Tommy remembers his father stabbing his brother with a sword.

‘Maybe I don’t truly belong anywhere’ Tommy sighs, hiding the amulet again. He won’t belong in either universe. At least the people here want him. He hears his name being called from the living room and moves out of his room, now feeling tired.

“Hey, we’re watching a movie! Wanna see it?” Wilbur asks as soon as he enters the room, patting a spot on the couch next to him. “Sure” Tommy shrugs, sitting down and grabbing some popcorn when it was offered.

The movie is kind of boring, and Tommy finds himself drifting off to sleep minutes after it started. Leaning his head on his brother’s shoulder, he closes his eyes, ignoring the ‘Awws’ coming from Wilbur. ‘Maybe this universe isn’t so bad’ is his last thought, as unconsciousness consumes him.

Chapter 10: Ending 2: To leave

Notes:

This chapter is a bit small, but the next one will be bigger!

“… to leave” Tommy decides. His family gives him sad smiles. Tommy goes forward, and hugs them one last time. “I’ll miss you” Tubbo whispers. “I’ll miss you, too” Tommy says, hugging Tubbo as well. He then pulls away and stands in front of the portal.

“I trust you’ll be well?” Philza asks. “I’ll be fine” Tommy says, holding the amulet close to his chest and stepping up to the portal, having it light up with its strange blue glow. “I love you” He says, as he is engulfed by a strange light.

The world changes around him, and when he steps out of the portal, he finds himself back to the place where he was exiled. Walking up to the clearing, Tommy finds someone standing at a grave, close to where his tent had previously blown up.

He walks towards the person. “You missed me?” He says, and the person – Tubbo – turns around, staring at him with clear disbelief. “You’re alive?” Tubbo asks, tears pooling at his eyes. “Of course I am. I’m a strong man.” Tubbo gives a watery laugh, and hugs his friend. They hold each other for a few minutes, before Tubbo pulls back.

“I’m sorry” He whispers. “It’s okay” Tommy answers, looking at his friend in the eyes. “Dream is gone, you know. Sometime after the exile he just… disappeared. None of us went looking for him.” Tommy stares at his friend in disbelief, before giving him a big smile. “He’s gone…” Tommy whispers excitedly.

“C’mon” Tubbo says, grabbing his friends arm and moving towards a boat. “Let’s get you back to L’manberg” Tommy follows him, happy to be home again.

When they get home, people get surprised at Tommy’s appearance, and after figuring out he’s okay, they celebrate. They treat him better than before, this time careful not to hurt his feelings. Tommy hangs out a lot with his friends from L’manberg, and with Tubbo as well. Together, they talk about everything that comes to mind, and listen to his music disks. As the days pass, he can’t help but think that he’s made the right choice.

One day, he walks to a cold biome, looking for someone. Finding a house in the distance, he walks up to it. He knocks on the door, and after some moments, someone opens it.

Tommy smiles. “Missed me?”

Chapter 11: Ending 3: Why not both?

Notes:

So, this will be the last chapter of this story. Thank you all so much for reading! Hope you enjoy! :)

“ … I choose to stay” Tommy says uncertainly, looking for approval from the others. His family cheers, but Tubbo looks worried. “Are you sure you’re fine with staying?” Tubbo asks. “I’ll be happier here, right? This has to be the best choice…” Tommy answers, trying to convince himself. Tubbo doesn’t seem convinced, and stands back as Tommy’s family move to hug the teenager.

“We’re glad you stayed” Philza whispers, holding his son close. “Yeah” Tommy says softly, returning the hug.

They go back to the house, and the family celebrates, even making a cake. They try to include him in all their conversations, smiling and talking about whatever comes to mind. He feels happiness as he sees these people care for him, but the next moment he feels guilty again. All this happiness is because he left all his other friends, his real home. And now he’s here, celebrating, like it doesn’t even matter.

His brothers notice his sadness and try to make him happy, and it only works a little. They suggest watching a movie, and Tommy is reluctant but accepts.

He spends a few days with his family, but his guilt only increases with time. One of these days, he decides that it’s enough, and grabs the amulet. Going out of his room, he passes Tubbo, who was visiting the house.

His friend looks up at him, freezing in surprise when he sees the amulet. “I’m going back home” Tommy warns. Tubbo’s face fills with recognition, and he nods. “Do you want me to warn your family?” Tubbo asks. “Yes. It might take a while for me to come back, if I do come back, that is.” Tommy says, moving to hug Tubbo one last time. Tubbo hugs him back, sighing.

Tommy then steps away, moving to the door. “Be safe” Tubbo says. “You too, big man” Tommy smiles, and closes the door. He finds the portal, and it lits up when he comes closer. “I can’t believe I’m doing this” He whispers. ‘I’m coming home’

The world changes around him, and he finds himself again in the place he was exiled. He looks around, looking for a way to go to L’manberg, and finds a boat forgotten on the shore. He goes in, rowing and praying he is going in the right direction. He finds land after some minutes, and starts walking, soon beginning to recognize his surroundings.

He finds L’manberg, and sees that it’s changed since he left. He starts walking around, looking at the new buildings. “I’m home” He whispers happily, almost not believing his luck. He laughs, looking happily at the place he was away from for so long.

“Tommy?” A voice asks, and he turns around, finding Tubbo standing there. “Tubbo” Tommy greets, looking at his friend. Tubbo is wearing a suit and tie that is a bit wrinkled, bags under his eyes. Tubbo takes a step forward, and then hesitates. “You’re real?” He asks. Tommy nods “Always been, big man”

Tubbo runs the last steps to his friend, embracing him in a hug. Tommy laughs and hugs back, both friends staying like that for a few minutes. It’s no one’s business if they were crying, happy as can be at their encounter.

Tubbo then takes a step back, putting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “I’ve been so worried about you” Tubbo says quietly, voice cracking. “I’m so sorry, for everything I said to you.” Tubbo continues. “It’s fine” Tommy whispers. “I’m just glad to be here”

“But it wasn’t fair” Tubbo says, looking at his friend apologetically. “I will try to fix my mistakes. I swear” “I believe you will” Tommy says. Tubbo then grabs his communicator and starts typing. “I will send everyone a message for them to know you’re here” Tubbo explains, typing something in chat before taking his hand and leading him further into L’manberg.

They find some people on the streets, who looked shocked to see Tommy standing there. They move to greet him, asking loads of questions on where he’d been, and soon enough most people he knows have come.

Tubbo makes sure Tommy is no longer exiled, and tells him that he hasn’t seen Dream in a couple of months. The two boys then talk, deciding to throw a party for Tommy’s return.

Tommy gets to talk to his friend, and people treat him nicely. After a few days of staying in L’manberg, Tommy decides to talk to his family. ‘After all, what if they think I’m dead?’ He wonders, finding their house after some searching.

He moves to the front door and then hesitates. “What if they don’t actually want me to come?” He says, and now he starts to regret his decision. With doubt plaguing his mind, he turns around and takes a step away from the door, when it suddenly opens.

“Tommy?” He hears a voice say, and when he turns around he sees Technoblade standing at the door, looking at him quizzically. “Eeey, Technoblade!” Tommy greets nervously, not knowing whether to retreat or not.

His question is answered when Techno grabs his arm and drags him into the house, closing the door behind him. “Philza, you might want to come down!” Techno shouts into the house, and Tommy looks around the house. He finds Ghostbur sitting at the couch, and waves nervously. Ghostbur smiles and waves back.

He then hears the sound of someone entering the room, and sees Philza standing there, looking at him, shocked. Tommy smiles awkwardly and waves. “Hey guys”

Philza moves towards him, quickly pulling him into a hug. Techno begrudgingly joins in, and later Ghostbur jumps over with a smile, also joining the hug. They stay like that for a few moments, before moving back.

“You’re alive” Relief flashes over Phil’s face. “You thought I could be killed that easily?” Tommy jokes. Phil then frowns. “But seriously, don’t do that again. We were worried sick about you.” His father warns, putting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “I’ll try not to.” Tommy answers, smiling.

He spends the day with his family, and afterwards goes back to L’manberg again. He spends some days in the country, before he starts wandering about the amulet. “Should I visit?” Tommy asks himself. Deciding that it couldn’t hurt to try, he tells Tubbo he will be visiting someone and goes through the portal, appearing again at the other dimension.

He goes to the house and knocks on the door, and after some moments, someone answers. “Tommy!” Wilbur exclaims, surprised to see him. “Hey” Tommy greets, and Wilbur gestures for him to come in. He comes into the house, finding Philza in the living room. “Tommy’s back!” Wilbur shouts, and Phil turns to them, shocked when he finds his son.

Tommy comes closer to Phil, and embraces him in a hug. “I thought you wouldn’t come back” Phil says, stepping away after some moments. “I had to go to my original universe. It’s my home, after all. But if you guys want I can visit every once in a while” Tommy explains.

Phil agrees, and they choose a date for the next visit. Tommy spends two days with his family, before going through the portal. He spends then a month in the Dream SMP before visiting again. The visits are two days every month, and he quickly spends some time with this new routine.

One of the days he goes to visit his alternate family, and he walks towards the house. He stops when he hears another set of footsteps, and Tommy climbs a tree, opting to hide. He sees the person getting closer, but he can’t see their face yet.

Leaning closer from his spot on the tree, he tries to see what the person looks like. He stops when he hears a crack, and quickly tries to grab onto the tree when the branch under him breaks. However, Tommy is not fast enough, and falls to the floor. A sharp pain goes through him. He weakly glances at the person, recognition flashing across his face. ‘It can’t be’ he thinks, before he falls into unconsciousness.